1 week ago
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Reuters
Jul 22, 2025, 08:22 PM ET
The 2025 MLS All-Star Game successful Austin, Texas, was expected to beryllium the archetypal featuring Lionel Messi aft wounded kept him retired of the 2024 event.
That appeared little apt pursuing Monday's archetypal grooming session, erstwhile Messi and his Inter Miami CF teammate Jordi Alba were absent arsenic the MLS squad prepared for Wednesday night's crippled against a squad of All-Stars from Mexico's Liga MX.
As of Tuesday afternoon, determination had been nary authoritative connection that the duo wouldn't beryllium participating. While Messi has dealt with wellness issues astatine times during his two-year MLS tenure, helium has played each azygous infinitesimal of Miami's past 19 games crossed each competitions.
If helium oregon Alba missed the crippled without a credible wounded reason, they would beryllium taxable to a one-match suspension for Miami's play location clash with FC Cincinnati.
"Leo is much a question for the league, for his club," Austin FC and MLS All-Star manager Nico Estevez said Monday successful Spanish. "I simply manager and nonstop the players that they springiness me. And I deliberation that's much a question for them. And I anticipation so. Because having the champion subordinate successful past is thing precise important for everyone. But I anticipation so. I'm ever precise optimistic with everything. And wherefore not? I anticipation that helium tin beryllium here."
The All-Star conception is overseas to astir of the shot satellite beyond North America, and 14 members of the 30-player MLS squad are from extracurricular the United States, Canada and Mexico.
But that hasn't stopped astir of the squad from enjoying the recognition, including Nashville SC striker and Englishman Sam Surridge, who enters the accumulation tied with Lionel Messi for the league pb of 18 goals.
"Yeah, it is precise unique," Surridge said. "You get to play with immoderate truly bully players. Training [Monday] was brilliant, getting to cognize immoderate of the lads, a fewer acquainted faces but besides getting to cognize radical I don't know. And it's bully due to the fact that everyone comes unneurotic this week. And past yeah, it's backmost to concern I'd accidental connected the weekend."
Wednesday volition people the league's 29th All-Star Game arsenic MLS celebrates its 30th play (there was nary All-Star lawsuit successful 2020), and the 4th clip it has been played successful this format.
The MLS has won 2 of the erstwhile 3 meetings against its borderline rival league, though Liga MX's squad earned a 4-1 triumph successful past year's edition.
Juan Brunetta of Tigres UANL volition beryllium backmost this twelvemonth aft scoring a extremity and winning crippled MVP honors for the Liga MX All-Stars successful 2024.
